How much have you spent on your wedding dress? My first wedding dress 21 years ago cost around £600.00, translate that to today and it works out at around £1500.00 – that’s a substantial amount! No matter how much you have spent or are planning on spending the dress for the bride is a major part of the day and you don’t want it ruined. I was lucky 21 years ago as the weather was good, however when I remarried in 2008 we’d had 3 weeks solid rain in the run up to the big day, although it did stop just for the day! Second time around I wore a tea length dress so mud wasn’t a problem for the dress (although the shoes have never been the same since!).

As I’m writing this it’s hammering down with hailstones onto already already soggy ground that hasn’t had a chance to properly dry out in what seems like months and as a result the grass is suffering and looking like a mud bath rather than a lawn! So, what do you do to protect your beautiful dress, whether it’s long or shorter? Today I came across a fantastic product that solves this problem, made by bridal designer Karen Robb of Dornellie, the Rainaway Bride is an inspired idea…..

Peace of Mind for a Bride on a Rainy Day

“Its hard to imagine rain on a wedding day, but sadly the British weather is not something that can be prearranged.

Do not let it spoil your special day by being prepared with a RAINAWAY BRIDE!!! A waterproof cloak with an elasticated hem which will scoop most dresses skirts up and away from puddles and mud. The large hood covers the head completely and protects hair and makeup.

This innovative product will keep any bride looking pristine and able to forget about the weather and enjoy the day of her dreams.

As a bridal designer, Dornellie, I felt the pain of so many brides arriving to their ceremony looking damp, muddy and not the beautiful vision which had taken so much planning and preparation to achieve. I then got to thinking about some kind of ‘poncho’ which would keep a bride dry. This still didnt solve the problem of the hem of the dress. To try and hold up many of these wedding dresses is a real struggle for a bride and even with help doesnt always work and will look incredibly undignified. Many knickers have been flashed as a result of too vigorous hoiking of skirts! The bridesmaids were also getting soaked as a result of trying to help, so the problem was just getting worse.

The answer was to elasticate the hem and form a pocket for the gown to sit into.

The next stage was a name and after much pacing and pencil chewing…..Rainaway Bride!!!! I now have a quirky but fully functional product which is the answer to all brides staying clean and dry for their big day.

Keep Dry and Get Married!!!!”

At £75.00 plus p&p to buy or £39.50 plus a £40.00 returnable deposit to hire, the Rainaway Bride is a very reasonable amount to pay to protect your beautiful gown from the weather and it’s effects. You can find out more from the Rainaway Bride website, you can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.